1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, flat panel display devices that can decrease weight and volume compared to cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are being developed. Liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display panels (PDPs), field emission display (FED) devices, and light emitting display devices are actively being researched as flat type display devices. However, among such flat panel display devices, LCD devices are easily manufactured, have good drivability, realize a high-quality image, and thus are attracting much attention.
In terms of technology and design interesting to consumers, research and development of flat panel display devices are increasingly required. Therefore, efforts are being continuously made for minimizing (slimming) the thicknesses of display devices, and research is increasingly conducted on designs with enhanced aesthetic appearance that can induce consumers to buy by appealing to the consumers' sense of style.
However, in design development for enhancing style or slimming of display devices that have been made to date, elements configuring a related art display device have been applied as is, and the structures of the elements have been changed. Due to these reasons, there are limitations in slimming display devices and developing the new designs of the display devices.
For example, in LCD devices of the related art, a lower case and a front case are necessarily used for housing and protecting a liquid crystal display panel and a backlight unit. Moreover, a separate front set cover and rear set cover are additionally used for assembling the LCD devices into notebook computers, monitors, mobile devices, televisions, etc.
As described above, display devices of the related art necessarily use the front set cover and rear set cover as well as the lower case and front case, and consequently, there are limitations in reducing the thicknesses of LCD devices or changing their designs. Particularly, the front set cover and rear set cover necessarily cover a top edge of a liquid crystal display panel. For this reason, the thicknesses of display devices inevitably become thicker, and moreover, the border widths of the display devices enlarge. In addition, it is difficult to realize various innovative designs due to a step height in a border portion between a cover and the display panel. Hereinafter, a related art LCD device will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a related art LCD device.
As seen in FIG. 1, the related art LCD device includes an upper substrate 10, a lower substrate 20, a driver 30, a guide frame 41, a support case 42, a backlight unit 50, a lower cover 61, and an upper cover 62.
The upper substrate 10 and the lower substrate 20 are coupled to each other by a sealant, and a liquid crystal layer (not shown) is disposed between the two substrates 10 and 20.
Although not shown, a black matrix and a color filter are disposed on the upper substrate 10, and a gate line, a data line, a thin film transistor (TFT), and a pixel electrode are disposed on the lower substrate 20. Here, each of these elements are formed in plurality.
The driver 30 applies respective signals to the gate lines and data lines disposed on the lower substrate 20 to drive the LCD device. In order to apply the respective signals to the gate lines and data lines disposed on the lower substrate 20, a peripheral portion of one side of the lower substrate 20 is extended longer than a peripheral portion of one side of the upper substrate 10, and the driver 30 is connected to the long-extended peripheral portion of one side of the lower substrate 20.
The guide frame 41 orients respective positions of the coupled substrates 10 and 20 and the backlight unit 50, and the support case 42 supports the backlight unit 50.
The backlight unit 50 includes a light source 51, a light guide plate 52, an optical sheet 53, and a reflective sheet 54.
The lower cover 61 and the upper cover 62 surround all of the above-described elements, and cover the LCD device.
In this example, the upper cover 62 covers a peripheral portion of a top of the upper substrate 10; thus, preventing the driver 30 from being exposed to the outside and preventing light from the backlight leaking around or from the peripheral portions of the upper substrate 10. However, as described above, because the upper cover 62 surrounds all of the peripheral portions of the upper substrate 10, step heights respectively occur where the upper cover meets the upper substrate and bezel widths along all four border of the LCD device are enlarged, causing a decrease in the aesthetic appearance of the LCD device.